Riverlife renovates Pittsburgh’s front door by connecting people to the rivers

Over the past 15 years, Riverlife, formerly the Riverlife Task Force, has been using a mix of public, private and philanthropic contributions to improve a 13-mile interconnected loop of riverfront parks.
Acting Director Jay Sukernek says since the city’s downtown core is on both banks of all three rivers, Pittsburgh has three times the opportunity to utilize its assets.
“People who are from Pittsburgh take pride in our downtown and in the views of downtown and in the pictures of downtown,” he says. “And so the work that is done to reclaim the riverfronts, it’s appreciated by more people than we can even imagine.”
By creating green spaces, public trails and other amenities along the riverfront, Sukernek says Riverlife has helped bring in corporations, hotels, residences, sports venues and casinos to the riverfront to generate investment returns back to the public.
The biggest challenge, however, is that the nonprofit doesn’t own any land — it is always planning other people’s property.
Sukernek says that most of the work that has been completed so far has been done on publicly owned property, but that’s about to change.
“We are working in partnership with private developers, specifically in the Strip District, to try to figure out a way that we can help create value for them along the riverfront. But the respect of their property lines has to be critical to that,” he says.
Riverlife is using its past successes, particularly in Point State Park, to build consensus with private developers.
Sukernek says the idea is to integrate public benefits into private property, keeping in mind that a comprehensive riverfront helps everybody. For instance, building in green infrastructure can assist with the city’s significant sewer overflow problem.
Economic constraints are going to be a big hurdle, as well as knowing what’s feasible.
In the past, Riverlife would use renderings as a tool to envision the future.
“Now 15 years later, people know what can be, and so you have to be very careful not to show pictures too quick,” he says. “The pictures are a great marketing tool and a great sales tool, but the public has come to expect delivery on projects.
“Understanding the feasibility of the land, of the land ownership, of what makes up the land, of the environmental concerns — all of that is critically important because you have to be able to deliver on the projects that you’re putting out pictures for,” Sukernek says.
As the organization has approximately 80 percent of Three Rivers Park complete and is moving into some outside opportunities, Riverlife also is taking a hard look at how it needs to operate.
For example, Three Rivers Park needs maintenance and programming, which could require different revenue sources than construction did.
That flexibility is one of the strengths of the organization, Sukernek says. And at the same time, Riverlife still uses its original master plan to give it focus.
“We are evaluating all of our options at this point,” he says. “Just because we’re a nonprofit doesn’t mean we’re not a business.
How to reach: Riverlife, (412) 258-6636 or www.riverlifepgh.org